South Africa, a member of the Commonwealth, occupies the southern tip of Africa, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. Area: 1,219,090 sq km (470,693 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 41,743,000. Executive cap., Pretoria; judicial cap., Bloemfontein; legislative cap., Cape Town. Monetary unit: South African rand, with (Oct. 11, 1996) a free rate of R 4.54 to U.S. $1 (R 7.16 = £1 sterling). President in 1996, Nelson Mandela.

Affairs

During 1996 the Constitutional Assembly drew up a new constitution for South Africa, replacing the interim constitution under which the country was functioning and consolidating the transition to democracy that took place in 1994. At the same time, the political honeymoon that the government of national unity (GNU), dominated by the African National Congress (ANC), had enjoyed since it was elected in 1994 came to a decisive end. The National Party (NP) left the GNU at the end of June--its first time out of government since 1948--and the regime came under criticism from a number of quarters. The rand began to fall in value in February and by the end of June had lost 20% of its value. An increase in crime, particularly violent crime, attracted attention throughout the year.

In January Pres. Nelson Mandela spelled out goals for the year, including the continuation of reconciliation, based on the ending of racial discrimination. He called for a "new patriotism" and a united crusade against crime and the "culture of rapacity." Criticizing a search for "short-lived quick solutions" and warning people not to expect entitlements from the state, he said that the government would have to improve on its delivery of services to the people. The Masekhane campaign, which aimed to end the widespread boycotting of rent and service payments, continued with varying success through the year; in April 77% of the people in Soweto were reported as not paying for municipal services.

Among the accomplishments of the government was the enactment of a law permitting abortion on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy; this was fiercely opposed by antiabortion groups and was due to be challenged in the Constitutional Court. Disadvantaged rural groups such as labour tenants had their legal right to own land acknowledged and promoted. A new health and safety act based on international standards and legislation promised to improve conditions in the mining industry. A national youth commission was established. With only approximately 4,000 houses a month under construction, there was a renewed emphasis on a state-private partnership in building rental housing stock for the poor. A new chief justice, Ismail Mahomed, the first black to occupy the post, was appointed.

Mandela said that the enactment of the new constitution "cleansed" the country "of a horrible past." The first draft of the constitution was passed in May. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) called a general strike on April 30 to oppose the introduction in the constitution of a clause guaranteeing employers the right to lock out workers. The strike was supported by many workers in industrial areas and was accompanied by demonstrations of 300,000 people, and it succeeded in eliminating the clause. Among other changes from the interim constitution were a protection of property clause, which empowered the state to engage in land redistribution, and the replacement of the Senate by a National Council of Provinces. Compulsory power sharing among parties was abolished. Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, home affairs minister and leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which had boycotted the Constitutional Assembly, labeled the draft constitution as that of a "totalitarian autocracy." KwaZulu/Natal enacted its own provincial constitution in March, with 9 of its 14 chapters frozen as "unresolved matters" in disputes between the IFP and the ANC.

The Constitutional Court considered the national and KwaZulu/Natal constitutions. It rejected the latter, regarding it as containing many provisions intended to usurp national power. It considered the former a "monumental achievement," taking issue with only nine of its provisions, including the fact that provincial powers were substantially less than those in the interim constitution. The Constitutional Assembly, again boycotted by the IFP, resubmitted a revised constitution to the court, which approved it in December. The IFP argued that the local government powers accorded to chiefs were insufficient.

While the levels of violence in Natal diminished in comparison with previous years, the situation there remained tense. Though booed by them, Mandela at a top-level meeting attended by King Goodwill Zwelithini and Buthelezi on March 15 chided chiefs in Natal for their support of violence. In April several of King Zwelithini’s wives were assaulted and a relative was murdered, allegedly by supporters of the IFP, during an attack on one of the king’s palaces. On May 4 police fought running gun battles in Durban with marchers of the pro-IFP National Hostels Residents Association.

Local elections were held in the Western Cape on May 29. The NP won 48.2% of the vote and thus consolidated at the local level the provincial victory it had won with 53.2% of the vote in the 1994 general election. Local elections took place in KwaZulu/Natal on June 26. The ANC won in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, and most other towns. The IFP, losing 6% support since the general election, still obtained a majority of votes in the province because of its strength in the rural areas.

In early February NP leader F.W. de Klerk complained of a breakdown of standards and of family life, of poor delivery of services, and of nonpayment of rent in the townships. He condemned the influence of radical trade unions and called for a new opposition alliance based on "Christian principles." When the NP departed from the government, it criticized the "pro-worker" labour relations clauses, the exclusion of the death penalty, and the abandonment of power sharing in the final constitution. The NP declared it would form a "dynamic but responsible" opposition.

Concern about crime was demonstrated by People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad), which burst onto the scene in the Western Cape in August when a mass demonstration that it organized resulted in the shooting and burning alive of a gangster leader outside his house. Pagad, which split into two factions, continued demonstrations at the houses of alleged gangsters. Gang leaders in the Western Cape claimed they were dissolving their gangs and working for peace.

A number of Cabinet changes took place during the year. In February the NP minister of welfare and population development, Abe Williams, resigned after allegations of corruption in his department. During the same month, the NP minister of constitutional development, Roelf Meyer, left the Cabinet to become secretary-general of the NP. Soon after presenting the budget in March, the nonparty finance minister, Chris Liebenberg, resigned and was replaced by the ANC’s Trevor Manuel. At the same time, the responsibility for overseeing the Reconstruction and Development Program was transferred from a minister without portfolio to the deputy president, Thabo Mbeki. Cyril Ramaphosa, the chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly and secretary-general of the ANC, resigned from both positions to become executive chairperson of the black-owned New Africa Investments. This company subsequently was involved in a takeover of the Anglo-American-owned Johnnic, which was seen as a step toward black economic empowerment. ANC legislators filled the Cabinet posts vacated by NP members in June, and Ben Magubane of the IFP left the Cabinet to enter the KwaZulu/Natal government.

After a 19-month trial, Col. Eugene de Kock, a former policeman in charge of "hit squads," was found guilty in August of 89 of the 121 charges against him, including 6 of murder and 2 of conspiracy to murder. In an effort to mitigate his sentence, he implicated many former senior officials of the regime in such "dirty tricks" as the planting of weapons caches, which was blamed on the ANC, and in hit squad activity, including operations previously alleged to have been committed by the liberation movements.

To the surprise of many, former defense minister Magnus Malan, Zakhele Khumalo, the deputy general secretary of the IFP, and 19 others were acquitted on charges stemming from the massacre of 13 United Democratic Front supporters at KwaMakhutha, Natal, in January 1987. The judge stated that the killings had been committed by (unknown) Inkatha members given military training by the former South African Defense Force.

During the year the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) began hearing evidence on human rights violations between 1960 and 1993; the TRC was chaired by Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, who retired as archbishop of Cape Town in June. Most of the testimony to the TRC was presented by victims of such violations, mainly at the hands of the state and its agents but also by liberation forces. Perpetrators of violations could apply for amnesty to the TRC provided they fully disclosed their responsibility for and role in such violations. By the year’s end few perpetrators had testified. A former chief of police alleged that P.W. Botha while president of the country had in 1988 authorized the bombing by police of Khotso House, headquarters of the South African Council of Churches. Senior police officers also admitted their responsibility for the blowing up of the headquarters of COSATU as well as for the murders of activists in the 1980s. The TRC commissioners charged the police with having destroyed past files that provided evidence of violations. The TRC was scheduled to submit its final report by March 1998.

In May the former ruler of the Transkei, Gen. Bantu Holomisa, testified to the TRC and claimed that ANC Cabinet minister Stella Sigcau had received a R 50,000 bribe from millionaire hotel owner Sol Kerzner under the Transkei government of George Matanzima. Subsequently, Holomisa alleged that other ANC leaders had received favours from Kerzner and that the ANC had secretly received R 2 million for its 1994 election campaign from Kerzner (which was subsequently admitted by Nelson Mandela). This led to Holomisa’s dismissal as deputy minister of environmental affairs and tourism in July and to his subsequent expulsion from the ANC. Many rank-and-file members of the ANC opposed these actions, and Holomisa announced that he would form a new political party.

There was conflict over economic policy between the ANC and its partners in the "triple alliance," COSATU and the South African Communist Party. In June the government announced a "macroeconomic strategy," targeting 6% growth and the creation of as many as 800,000 jobs by the year 2000 on the basis of attracting foreign investment. It aimed at budget deficit reduction, exchange control relaxation, wage and price "moderation," and labour market "flexibility." COSATU and the Communist Party described the strategy as "neoliberal" and opposed its calls for wage and fiscal restraint. Responding to the opposition of the unions in COSATU, Mandela declared in Germany in May that privatization was "the fundamental policy of the ANC." Several unions supported a one-day strike against privatization on July 2.

The Economy

The economic upswing that began in May 1993 continued into 1996, though there were signs of a slowdown. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.3% in 1995, the largest gain since 1988. Manufacturing grew by 7.6%, while agriculture and mining declined. Anticipated GDP growth in 1996 was 3%. Gross domestic fixed investment rose 10.4% in 1995 and 6% in the first half of 1996. It was expected to increase by 4-7% in 1996 overall.

The economic upturn was, however, described as "jobless growth." Only 12,000 jobs had been created since May 1993, and since that time manufacturing, mining, and construction had lost 126,052 jobs. Employment in manufacturing had been stagnant since the mid-1980s. Unemployment in 1996 was estimated by the Central Statistical Services at 32.6%, and it was estimated that 280,000 were added to the unemployed in 1995-96.

In 1995 the rand depreciated only 2.66%, but during 1996 it lost some 20% of its value. Inflation reached a 24-year low of 5.5% in April, then rose to 7.5% by August, and was anticipated to be less than 8% for the year, compared with 8.7% in 1995.

The budget contained some tax relief for individuals and companies. There was a 10.4% increase in spending to R 173.7 billion, with interest repayments on debt accounting for 18.7%, education for 21.2%, health 9.9%, and welfare 9.6%.

Foreign Affairs

President Mandela was warmly greeted on his first official visit to the United Kingdom, and he shared a platform with French Pres. Jacques Chirac on Bastille Day (July 14) in Paris. Also, in July he met with Presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Sir Ketumile Masire of Botswana, and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique to discuss the conflict over democratic reform in Swaziland. Mandela was elected chairperson of the Southern African Development Community in August. South Africa also became chair of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

The second report of the Cameron Commission, appointed to investigate arms sales, recommended the disbandment of the Armscor board of directors and that Armscor no longer have the power to determine to whom arms were sold. To protests from the arms industry, the commission recommended that all future arms deals be authorized by Parliament and made public. The government accepted the recommendations. Despite evidence of illegal exports of arms to Rwanda and Burundi, the government, against the opposition of human rights groups, approved the sale of arms to the Rwandan government in October.

South Africa had been one of the few governments to maintain diplomatic relations with both Taiwan and China, but late in the year it severed ties with Taiwan. Its relations with the U.S. included a binational commission chaired by U.S. Vice Pres. Al Gore and Deputy President Mbeki. The South African government backed away from Mandela’s call at the 1995 Commonwealth Conference for sanctions against Nigeria for human rights violations. Controversy arose over Mandela’s meetings with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and with a representative of the Palestine organization Hamas and over relations with Libya, Cuba, and Iran.